Endoscopic surgery may be accomplished in multiple ways. At least one incision is made or a body orifice is utilized to permit an endoscope with visualization optics to enter into the body cavity and be positioned adjacent the surgical field of interest. The working ends of surgical implements may be inserted into this incision or may be attached to the endoscope. Alternately, more than one incision into the body cavity may be made. One incision permits the independent placement of an endoscope in the body cavity. Other incisions permit the separate emplacement of the working ends of various surgical implements.
During both a) entry into an incision in the body, and b) during the course of the surgical procedure, moisture or body materials may be present at the tip of the endoscope, which would blur the surgeon's vision of the surgical field. Hence, the tip must be cleaned of such material.
It is presently known to clean the lens at the tip of the endoscope by squirting an endoscope with water or some other liquid. Such devices are typically shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,281,646, 4,919,113, and Japanese Patent 5-103751. However, under certain surgical procedures, particularly in which the field is pressurized with a gas such as air, it is undesirable to introduce such additional moisture into the surgical field. Further, spraying liquid on the endoscope may not provide thorough cleaning and may result in streaking or spotting when the liquid dries.
It is also known to use sponge devices, impregnated with water or other cleaning solutions, to clean endoscopes. Several embodiments of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,874. The cleaning sponge may be used outside of the surgical area or may also be attached to the interior of an endoscopic trocar cannula so that the endoscope comes in contact with and is cleaned by a sponge device every time the endoscope is inserted into the trocar cannula. Such devices employing a sponge-type wiping element require the removal of the endoscope from its incision, and the surgical area as a whole, in order to provide effective cleaning. Endoscope removal may result in the loss of valuable time during endoscopic surgery. Further, additional entry and exit of the surgical area may be required when using these devices, resulting in additional trauma to the patient.